Finally, we will refer here to a book that has given us more insight on the role of Whitman as Adam in America: The American Adam, “Innocence, Tragedy and Tradition in the Nineteenth Century”, by R. W. B. Lewis (1955). His book centers upon the appearance of a “native American mythology,” from 1820 to 1860. As he declares, he is
interested rather in the history of ideas and, especially, in the representative imagery and anecdote that crystallized whole clusters of ideas; my interest is therefore limited to articulate thinkers and conscious artists. A century ago, the image contrived to embody the most fruitful contemporary ideas was that of the authentic American as a figure of heroic innocence and vast potentialities, poised at the start of a new history [...] suggested by the image of a radically new personality, the hero pf the new adventure: an individual emancipated from history, happily bereft of ancestry, untouched and undefiled by the usual inheritances of family and race; an individual standing alone, self-reliant and self-propelling, ready to confront whatever awaited him with the aid of his own unique and inherent resources. It was not surprising, in a Bible reading generation, that the new hero (in praise of disapproval) was most easily identified with Adam before the Fall. (LEWIS, 1955, pp.1-5)
Needless to say that this archetypal man was clearly observed in Whitman, who wrote a book especially on this theme: “Children of Adam”. Thus, the contextualization of this myth in America by Lewis has helped us understand Whitman’s position, which is studied in more depth in the next sections of our research. All these authors have made us open our minds to the vast universe of Whitman’s life and works, and see aspects of the Leaves that we could not see before.
